This is not the final version of me
there are many more iterations to come─

the one where five a.m. is the perfect time
to play peek-a-boo with a grandchild,

the one where I am no longer considered a cog,
but a celebrated contributor,

the one where my journey to Italy
yields fresh olives and newly-pressed oil,

the one where someone else’s timetable
is no longer mine,

the one where purple and green ink
autograph my first book,

the one where I drink in the view from the Rocky Mountaineer
as it winds its way from Vancouver to Banff,

the one where I sneak chocolate
to the naughty grandchild in the corner,

the one where I compose the ending
of my own narrative.

Elaine Sorrentino has been published in Minerva Rising, Willawaw Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Ekphrastic Review, Writing in a Women’s Voice, ONE ART; a journal of poetry, The Door Is a Jar, Agape Review, Haiku Universe, Sparks of Calliope, Muddy River Poetry Review, Etched Onyx Magazine, and wildamorris.blogspot.com. She was recently featured on an Onyx Publications poetry podcast.